Entries in Quinnipiac University Poll
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- “How high is up?” That’s the question Wednesday from Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, which is out with a new New Jersey poll that’s a record breaker.

It shows a 74 percent approval rating for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the highest of any New Jersey governor in 17 years of Quinnipiac surveys. New Jersey voters also say 71 to 23 percent that Christie deserves reelection this year.

Christie’s rating is currently the highest of any governor in the seven states surveyed by Quinnipiac. Even 56 percent of New Jersey Democrats approve of Christie and 48 percent of them say he deserves reelection. He leads his likely Democratic opponent, State Sen. Barbara Buono, 62 to 25 percent.

“Most governors would kill for a 56 percent job approval rating. Republican Gov. Christie gets that from Democrats,” Carroll said in a release revealing the numbers.

This is similar to a Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll out last month that showed a 73 percent approval rating for Christie from Garden State voters. The sky high numbers come after Christie’s response to Superstorm Sandy, which, at times, included him taking on members of his own party to get federal funds for rebuilding.

While Jersey Democrats approve of Christie, they appear to be split if he ends up running for president against Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, the poll shows.

New Jersey voters favor the former secretary of state 49 to 45 percent, according to the poll. New Jersey has not gone red in a presidential election since 1988.

Christie, however, tops potential White House rival New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo 54 to 36 percent.

“If the 2016 presidential race shapes up to be the battle of the Hudson, native son Christie tops New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the west bank of the river, but is locked in a tight race with the Empire State’s favorite adopted daughter, Hillary Clinton,” Carroll said.

Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The latest New York Times-CBS News-Quinnipiac University poll confirms the greatest hopes -- and fears -- of the GOP.

Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate did put Wisconsin in play, but the Medicare issue remains a big liability in key battleground states.

In the Badger State, the matchup between President Obama and Romney has tightened up – from an Obama lead of 6 points in a similar poll on Aug. 8 to just two points into the survey released Thursday. Obama leads Romney, 49 percent to 47 percent in Wisconsin a little less than two weeks since the presumptive Republican nominee put Ryan on the ticket.

In Florida too Romney is making some inroads, now trailing Obama by just 3 percentage points -- 46 percent to 49 percent.

But while the margin in Wisconsin is narrowing, Ohio is now drifting from "toss-up" to "lean Obama" -- proof that the heavy air assault on Romney this summer has been brutally effective. The poll shows Obama at 50 percent in Ohio compared to Romney's 44 percent.

Winning Wisconsin, but losing Ohio would mean that to win the Electoral College, Romney would still need to run the table and carry Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada (or Colorado). (Remember, Ohio has 18 electoral votes; Wisconsin has just 10.)

Meanwhile, Obama can surpass the magic number by winning just three of those states -- Colorado, Nevada and Virginia.

In fact, looking at the battleground states, map, Romney would have to pick up Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nevada and Indiana just to get to a 269-269 Electoral College tie.

One senior Republican told ABC News he thought Romney's team was beginning to wonder if Ohio is a bridge too far -- which was partly why Ryan was picked, as part of an alternative strategy involving Wisconsin and other states.

However, that's not to say that the campaign has given up on Ohio. Both Romney and Ryan will be campaigning together in the state on Saturday.

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A Quinnipiac University poll released today shows President Obama with slight leads over Mitt Romney in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A small but definite chunk of Americans don’t know much about Mitt Romney.

Romney’s blank-slate quality was highlighted by the latest swing-state poll, taken by Quinnipiac in Virginia and released Thursday. When asked for their opinions on Romney, a full 21 percent of respondents said they hadn’t heard enough about him to decide.

The same was true last month in Florida and Ohio, where Quinnipiac polls showed 19 and 24 percent, respectively, had no opinion of the man who could move into the White House in January. Even more independents said they had no view -- 24 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

The average person wouldn’t be disappointed if one in five swing-state voters held no opinion of him or her, and perhaps Romney shouldn’t take it so hard, either. But the polls indicate a difference between Romney and Obama, one that should perhaps be obvious.

Obama, having been president for three and a half years, is a known quantity -- in each of those states, all but four percent or fewer had an opinion of him; Romney, less so.

It’s not that people don’t like Romney. He was popular in Virginia (39 percent favorable, 37 percent unfavorable) and Florida (44 percent favorable, 35 percent unfavorable); in Ohio, he was narrowly unpopular (35 percent favorable, 37 percent unfavorable). It’s just that they haven’t made up their minds.

We shouldn’t read too much into the findings of a single polling agency. Each asks questions differently, and some push respondents to offer an opinion, while some don’t. Quinnipiac doesn’t, meaning higher responses of no opinion. Other pollsters have found more affinity and aversion, where Romney is concerned.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post polling, for instance, found that 14 percent hold no opinion of Romney nationwide. (He’s unpopular, according to ABC’s findings, at 41 percent favorable, 45 percent unfavorable.) But again, Obama is a known entity, with only three percent expressing no opinion of him.

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images(HAMDEN, Conn.) -- Former senator Rick Santorum is the most competitive Republican candidate challenging President Obama in swing state Pennsylvania, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

Santorum is in a virtual tie with Obama, 44 to 45 percent, when Keystone State voters are asked to choose between the two if the presidential election were held today. The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 points.

The results of the poll, conducted March 7-12, before Tuesday night’s primary results, reflect the continued appeal of Santorum in the state where he grew up, attended college, and which he later represented in Congress, pollsters say.

Obama, who won Pennsylvania by 10 points over John McCain in 2008, has meanwhile faced volatile job approval and favorability ratings in the state, signaling what will be a closely contested campaign in the fall.

Fewer than half, 47 percent, of Pennsylvania voters approve of Obama, hold favorable impressions of him and say that he deserves a second term, according to the poll.

Obama “has lackluster approval, favorability and reelection numbers in Pennsylvania, but this is his highest approval rating in a year and his best performance in months running against Mitt Romney,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The Obama campaign has mounted an aggressive organizing effort in Pennsylvania, operating 12 field offices, including three in the Philadelphia area.

Since April, when Obama announced his bid for a second term, Democratic volunteers have placed more than half a million phone calls to prospective voters and held 6,100 face-to-face meetings with supporters, a campaign official said.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(HAMDEN, Conn.) -- More voters in the heavily Democratic state of New York now disapprove of President Obama than approve of him – the first time he has ever received a negative rating – according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The 49 to 45 percent split reflects a growing angst over the country’s economic woes, and frustration with Obama’s response even in one of his electoral strongholds. In June, New Yorkers approved of the president by a 57 to 38 percent split.

Overall, New Yorkers split fairly evenly on whether Obama deserves a second term, with his strongest support concentrated in New York City and among union households. Majorities of upstate and suburban voters strongly say Obama does not deserve re-election.

“The debt ceiling hullaballoo devastated President Barak Obama’s numbers even in true blue New York,” Quinnipiac’s Maurice Carroll said in a statement with the poll.

The results, which have a margin of error of +/- 2.4 points, do not, however, suggest Obama faces a re-election battle in the Empire State or risks losing its 29 electoral votes.

When asked whether they would support Obama or a generic Republican in a hypothetical match-up, voters opted for Obama by a 49-34 percent margin.

Photos.com/Thinkstock(HAMDEN, Conn.) -- Michele Bachmann isn’t just making a name for herself in Iowa, she has surged to second place nationally, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney still has a healthy lead at the front of the Republican pack, earning the support of 25 percent of potential GOP voters, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll. Bachmann, who just weeks ago was at 6 percent in the polls, has more than doubled her support ranking -- to 14 percent.

The poll suggests voters are looking for a more conservative option to Romney -- coupled with a name they recognize.

In third and fourth place are two contenders who are not yet even candidates. Sarah Palin ranked third -- but statistically tied with Bachmann -- taking 12 percent of the vote. Texas Gov. Rick Perry took 10 percent.

Michael Hickey/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said on Wednesday that it is not too late for him to jump into the Republican presidential nominating contest, and even called the late start to the campaign “a blessing.”

“People far more sage than I about our political process and presidential process are very surprised that on May the fourth it’s not already far too late,” Daniels said during a speech in Washington, D.C. “But for whatever reason, it’s not.”

Daniels, who was answering a question from a reporter after a speech on education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that from the “standpoint of the public” the plodding pace of the campaign for the GOP nomination is “a blessing.”

For months, Daniels has been coy about a presidential run, and he offered few insights into his decision-making process during his trip to the East Coast this week. He made it clear he would not announce his presidential plans until after the end of Indiana’s legislative session. That session ended last Friday.

“I really thought that it might become too late somewhere along the line,” Daniels said of his thinking about his timeline. “But for whatever reason it appears not to be, and again, I think it’s a happy surprise.”

When pressed by reporters to elaborate on his timeline for making an announcement -- one way or the other -- on a presidential bid, Daniels said, “We won’t take long.” He noted that “family considerations are always the most important” factor in that process.

The Indiana Republican, who has served as governor since 2005, touted his work to improve the education system in his state, including dismantling what he called “bookshelves full of regulations” hindering teacher performance and student achievement and removing “contractual handcuffs” for school administrators.

A Quinnipiac University poll released just hours before he spoke in Washington showed Daniels in fifth place among other likely GOP presidential contenders with five-percent support among Republicans, tied with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney emerged on top with 18 percent, followed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who each got 15 percent. Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump stood at 12 percent.

Photo Courtesy - Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images(HAMDEN, Conn.) -- Forty-nine percent of respondents in a nationwide poll conducted by Quinnipiac University say that President Obama does not deserve to be re-elected.

Just 43 percent believe that Obama should get a second term. Still, this represents a slight improvement for the president since July, when 48 percent of people polled were against Obama's re-election and 40 percent favored another term.

The poll also finds that Sarah Palin leads all other Republicans as the pick for the 2012 nominee -- but just barely. The former Alaska governor is ahead with 19 percent, compared to 18 percent for Mitt Romney and 17 percent for Mike Huckabee, who were governors of Massachusetts and Arkansas, respectively.

When it comes to head-to-head matches against Obama, Romney leads the president 45 percent to 44 percent, with Obama ahead of Huckabee 46 percent to 44 percent. An Obama-Palin match-up has the president ahead, 48 percent to 40 percent.﻿

Photo Courtesy - Paladino for the People(NEW YORK) -- Republican Carl Paladino appears to be losing momentum in the New York gubernatorial race, despite his lead among likely voters in New York who are unhappy with state government, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

The poll reports that New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for governor, is pulling ahead. The poll reports Paladino is trailing 55-37 percent.

When the university surveyed in September, Cuomo had only a 49-43 percent lead over Paladino. However, the weeks following those survey results grew tumultuous for Paladino. Quinnipiac attributes the poll's shift to independents who were turned off by Paladino’s tough talk, including his finger-pointing argument with a New York Post reporter whom he threatened to “take…out.” The poll finds less than a third of likely voters now think Paladino is the right person for the governor's job.